Santorum plays race card on Obama

In eyebrow raising comments, possible presidential hopeful Rick Santorum is questioning how President Barack Obama — as an African-American — can support abortion rights.

Santorum, a former Republican senator from Pennsylvania who is seriously considering a run for his party’s 2012 presidential nomination, argued in an interview that a fetus is a person and said he considers it “almost remarkable for a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people.’”

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Discussing Obama’s views on abortion during a two-hour sit-down with CNS News on Thursday, Santorum said the president’s pro-choice position meant he was valuing some lives over others.

“The question is, and this is what Barack Obama didn’t want to answer — is that human life a person under the Constitution?” he said.

“And Barack Obama says no. Well, if that human life is not a person, then I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people.’”

Santorum on Thursday issued a statement trying to clarify his comments.

“For decades certain human beings were wrongly treated as property and denied liberty in America because they were not considered persons under the constitution,” his statement says. “Today other human beings, the unborn of all races, are also wrongly treated as property and denied the right to life for the same reason; because they are not considered persons under the constitution. I am disappointed that President Obama, who rightfully fights for civil rights, refuses to recognize the civil rights of the unborn in this country.”

In the CNS interview, Santorum also opposed giving homosexuals the right to marry and said it’s a “disservice” for society to allow gay couples to adopt children.

“This is common sense,” he said. “This is nature. And what we’re trying to do is defy nature because a certain group of people want to be affirmed by society. I just don’t think that’s to the benefit of society or the child.” Kendra Marr contributed to this report.